Carina Felina, why you so mean-a?

 

A hilarious rollicking tale about Carina Felina who is quite full of herself. She learns her lesson, at the end, after eating up so many creatures. How they get out of her is a hoot. The reader learns a few Spanish words along the way. For lovers of THE GINGERBREAD MAN.

Eve Bunting, classic, prolific, and she will be missed

 I have always been amazed by the body of work that Eve Bunting has contributed to children's literature. This Irish woman who transplanted to California and became an author passed away on October 1, 2023 at the age of 94. My top two favorites by her are THE WEDNESDAY SURPRISE and HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEAR DUCK.  

We miss you Eve Bunting. Thanks for all of your stories.

There are several key factors to her writing that I see: 

*compassion *humor *a reverence for the ordinary moments  *respect for nature *the willingness to tackle very tough subjects *offering solutions *everything presents a story!

*Eve was assigned a different illustrator for each of her books. Miraculously, each match fits perfectly. 

This is a tribute to her. I found 5 books that I had not yet read by her in Infosoup. The Memory String The tension between a young girl and her stepmother dissipates when her stepmother is respectful of her memory string. Yard Sale It is sad when a family is undergoing a forced downsizing. But this book points out that a home is not about the stuff. The home is about the people in it. Tweak Tweak Elephant and her baby take a stroll. Baby is very curious. The summary statement is sweet, "A little elephant can walk through the jungle and across the grasslands holding her mother's tail. She can ask questions and learn. She can grow to be a big, strong, smart, beautiful elephant." Sing A Song of Piglets: A Calendar in Verse This is a beautiful tribute to the pleasures of each month in the year. Example: August, "Sing a song of reading, lying in the shade. Chapter Three, you read to me! And pass the lemonade." Christmas Cricket Cricket brings his joyful noise to the place he has hidden himself in in a Christmas tree.  

Imagination as defiant!

A picture book that defies everything…I love it. 

A sheep and a wolf being friends? A sheep and a wolf

who work together to build three prototypes for flying?

On the third try, a flying dragon that works? Yes to all!!!

 

A wonderful bear & fall book!

 Bear thinks he is making all of the autumn things happen with his sneezes (leaves falling, apples dropping, geese flying). In a stand off with the wind, wind gives bear a stern lesson that the power is coming from it, the AUTUMN BREEZE. By the end of the book, bear knows it is not his sneeze, but the breeze, that slams the door of his den. SLJ review: "An above-average addition for libraries looking for more bear, hibernation, or winter stories to freshen up interactive storytimes." Yes!

Other books in the series are SHARE, BIG BEAR, SHARE! and SLEEP, BIG BEAR, SLEEP!

They follow the same pattern of storytelling and are fun to compare and contrast with. 

Renovation of an infested clock

 After reading about Clock Island in THE WISHING GAME, I came across this beautiful picture book. The team of renovators restore a beautiful mammoth clock called "the queen of clocks". This rhyming book also enlists onomatopoeia making it a terrific read-aloud. I loved the ending when remnants are used to build homes for the creatures who have been living in the clock. A great story of imagination and respect.

Two about bees and bears!

 

Benedict the Bear enjoys his daily delivery of three jars of honey until a bee lets him know that the bees are going on strike. This bee lets Benedict know that he is part of the problem and then Benedict realizes he can become a part of the solution. The beautiful illustrations carry the reader to a happy ending. This is a great story to make anyone take pause about what they take for granted!

 I like this because every word in the book is created from these five letters: a, b, e, r and w. And I loved the sweet ending. The only thing I was a little iffy about was did the bee lose its stinger? Scientifically, it would have been kaput for the bee in that case.

Frogs defeat the witch!

 Imagine a witch who stars on a cooking show called the BEWITCHING KITCHEN. She is in the TV studio running through a recipe with her viewers. The recipe calls for frogs. This is when the fun begins. She is trying to remain calm in front of the camera as her ability to catch frogs eludes her. The solution is clever, heartwarming, and funny. A delightful read aloud!

A debut!

 This is a debut picture book. Wow! It is outstanding about the fear of a spider which gets turned around by the end of the book. The layout of the book is fun to read and I enjoyed the spread which outreached the book to show the city's horizon. The end paper holds a fantastic message: To relocate a surprise guest, you will need~A glass; some cardboard; a kind heart (and perhaps courage). First give it a little name. HARRY. (Take a DEEEEEP BREATH!) and so forth...very cool!

For the love of Hawaii (five)

 

This is a lift the flap book that teaches creatures who are native to Hawaii. The book ends sweetly with the reader going to bed under a Hawaiian quilt by looking in a mirror to see themselves. 

Wow, this book is so cool. Malia celebrates being Hawaiian, Japanese, Filipino and Chinese. The rhymes aren't forced and the pictures are joyful!

This is a great book about the relationship between Punky and her grandmother. When Punky is feeling shy her grandmother encourages her to share her ALOHA in three steps: Be helpful, be giving, be brave. Punky follows those directions for a happy ending!

This is a great "piggyback" on the THE THREE LITTLE PIGS. Hawaiian vocabulary and customs are woven into the book. The illustrations are great and the shark is laugh out loud hilarious!

This book was so beautiful and bright. And it celebrates a grandmother making a lei for her friend because it is her friend's birthday! 

A study in conflict resolution!

 

Bug and Pug are having a disagreement. Slug acts as mediator. Pug realizes that he is at fault and apologizes. Sweet rhyming story that readers of all ages will get! (This encapsulates the power of the picture book to teach lessons.)

How to say hello to a worm

 How to say hello to a worm: A First Guide to Outside Kari Percival c) 2022 Ezra Jack Keats Award winner!

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This book celebrates the joys of lettuce and mud and ladybugs and worms and bees and strawberries and carrots and the PATIENCE one needs to harvest peas! Lovely!

Toto's Apple

 Toto's Apple, Mathieu Lavoie, c) 2016

 

Toto is willing to experiment with lots of different ideas to get a hold of an apple.

So clever: He makes a fake worm and when bird swoops down for it, Toto takes a ride on the bird's wing. Next, he paints himself so he can camouflage in squirrel's fur. His third try (to get to the apple) is to make wings and fly like a butterfly. Unexpected luck happens when Didi's mom takes a ladder and gets the apple down from the tree for Didi. The ending is a huge surprise...will everything be okay?

Ear worm!

 Ear worm! (Shimmy shimmy, no-sashay...) Jo Knowles; illustrated by Galia Bernstein C) 2022

 

Owl explains to worm that he has an ear worm=a song stuck in his head! As he tries to find out from other animals if they put it there, they have ear worms of their own. Very funny! Ultimately, when worm is being sung to at bedtime by his dad, the mystery is resolved!

Charming, because goldfish need a vacation, too!

This book is an absolute delight. And it made me so happy to read that this is based on a true story of what happened in New York over the summers of 1992 to 2005. Can you imagine a beautiful fountain where kids could bring their goldfish to have a summer vacation? This was mostly to attract kids who weren't leaving the city themselves to have a fun place to visit! The fountain was first filled with lily pads and reeds and shining water. The kids come to collect their goldfish at the end of the summer. My adult mind asked, "How would they know their fish?" They didn't! They just took home whichever ones they caught. So cool!!! Creative!!! Magical!

 

Bubbles & Giggles

 This is a book about finding the joy even in the face of a disaster. Lovely. A tornado comes through and then a family finds happiness by playing with bubbles. So very sweet and hopeful.

Mixing up the seasons!

 

A priceless giggly book for a frigid day. Cow dresses for winter during Spring, Summer and Fall. When winter comes around, her confusion puts her in the mood for summer dressing...a lot of us are thinking about summer today! I used this title for READ ACROSS THE COMMUNITY, 2023.

 

A great way to learn the geography of North & South America!

 Penguin is from Antarctica and Polar Bear is from the Arctic. They agree to meet in the middle. Thus begins a fantastic study in the geography of North and South America. The character of the arctic tern makes it all happen. Delightful!